On this day: May 3

2011: American actor Jackie Cooper, the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination, dies of natural causes at the age of 88 in Santa Monica, California. Cooper was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor at the age of 9 for the 1931 movie "Skippy," making him the youngest actor to be nominated for the award. For nearly 50 years, he would remain the youngest Oscar nominee in any category, until he was surpassed by Justin Henry's nomination, at age 8, in the Best Supporting Actor category for 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer." As a child actor, Cooper also appeared in the "Our Gang" comedy series and also appeared in movies such as "The Champ," "The Bowery" and a 1934 version of "Treasure Island." As an adult he worked as a TV executive, producer and director, with his work directing episodes of "M*A*S*H" and "The White Shadow" earning him Emmy Awards. He also found renewed fame in the 1970s and 1980s as Daily Planet editor Perry White (pictured) in the "Superman" film series starring Christopher Reeve.

Thousands of California acres are ablaze as firefighters battle at least 21 wildfires throughout the state, but while many of those fires are small or mostly contained, the wind and heat that are spreading the Rocky Fire in Northern California -- and...